Referencing Procedure & Right to Rent

Once an offer for a property has received it’s preliminary approval you will be required to complete and pass full tenant referencing.

Each applicant will then receive an email from our referencing partner. Each email is unique to each applicant so please make sure you fill in your form only. Our referencing partner will then contact your employer and previous landlord, so please make sure you have informed them before you submit the form.

Referencing Procedure

Our referencing procedure covers three main elements; credit history, employment and previous landlord. In some cases, a guarantor may be required.

Credit history

We are looking for a clean credit history, with no county court judgements (CCJ’s), bankruptcies, individual voluntary arrangements (IVA’s), debt repayment orders (DRO’s), or similar debt-related issues. If a tenant is unsure of their credit history, we recommend that they check their credit report online via sites such as checkmyfile (free 30 day trial, then £14.99 per month, cancel anytime).

Employment

We need to confirm that you have sufficient income for the term of the tenancy.

Income that is not guaranteed for duration of the tenancy can not be taken in to account. This includes commission, bonuses, overtime and zero hour/agency/temporary or short term contracts (of less than the tenancy term). If you are self employed, you will need to provide at least 3 months bank statements that show the income you receive from your employment.

The employment element includes a calculation of affordability. This is based on your guaranteed gross annual income. Your household income must be 2.5 times the annual rent (eg, for a rent of £1,000 pcm, the minimum income required is £30,000). Savings can also be used towards this calculation, but please speak with us first if you are reliant on savings to pass the affordability check.

Previous landlord

Your previous landlord will be contacted and asked about your conduct as a tenant, including whether your rent was paid on time.

Guarantor

Should your references recommend that a guarantor is required, they will need to earn 3 times the annual rental amount. You can use multiple guarantors to reach this multiple.

Right to Rent

Landlords are required to check that all occupants over the age of 18 have the legal right to rent in the UK. You will be required to provide identification to confirm that you are eligible to live in the UK. In most cases, this will be in the form of a passport or visa. If you are unable to provide this, you will not be able to rent a property.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the referencing process or requirements, please contact us.

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